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Story by Brittany Nunn

Jess Hoops

WHAT? High-quality hula hoops

WHERE? Etsy.com/shop/JessHoops & YouTube: search “Jess Wagstrom”

HOW MUCH? $35-$45

If you’ve never heard the word “badass” used to describe hula hooping, then you’ve never talked to East Dallas neighbor Jess Wagstrom.

It has probably been years or even decades since the vast majority of neighbors have twirled a shiny plastic hoop around their hips — if they were ever able to at all. But Wagstrom, also known as “Jess Hoops,” says hula hooping isn’t just for little kids anymore, thanks in large part to the Internet.

“When most people think of hula hooping, they think of using it on the waist and little kids,” Wagstrom says. “Hoop dance is more of a full-body thing. You use the hoop on every part of the body and sometimes off body. It’s more like a movement art than just a play thing.”

Wagstrom was intrigued when she learned about the recent hoop dance trend via YouTube, so she and some friends bought a roll of tubing and made their own hula hoops, which Wagstrom says is the key to successful hooping as an adult.

“A lot of adults think they can’t hoop because they’re used to the hoops they used as a kid,” Wagstrom says. “Mine are big and heavy. They’re a lot sturdier, so you don’t have to move as fast to keep them going. They keep momentum better than the ones you can get at the store.”

The first hula hoop she made wasn’t great — or at least it wasn’t pretty — but it did the job. Over the next year Wagstrom became obsessed. She made more hoops, practiced daily and even taught hooping classes and performed.

Hooping gave Wagstrom an excuse to dance around and be active, which is something she wants to pass on to others.

“A lot of people come to hooping for fitness reasons,” she says. “They want to do something for exercise, but they don’t want to do boring sit-ups and push-ups all the time, so they try hooping and find out how fun it is.”

Eventually she opened her own Etsy shop to sell her hoops, which soon turned into her fulltime gig. On top of making hoops, she also enjoys teaching beginners how to hoop through classes and her YouTube channel.

“I really like helping people who think they can’t do it realize they can,” Wagstrom says. “They just need the right hoop.”